Fantasy Golf Tournament Preview- Joburg Open (European Tour Package)

OVERVIEW

The Joburg Open gets a new host course this year as Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Club take a year off from hosting duties. A new course with no history means we rely less on tournament history and more on form/statistical profile/eye test. The field for this event had been a bit stronger in years past, but with so many players looking to wind down for the holiday season after such a heavy schedule, it seems as though those that NEED to be here, are. The event will be held on two separate courses (3 rounds at Firethorn, 1 at Bushwillow) again this year, with similar yardage gaps as the previous events have been held on so that’s one less variable we need to worry about this week. Click here for a more robust breakdown of the Firehorn and Bushwillow courses. As you can see from the course breakdowns, bunkers will come into play this week, so we’ll be giving a bump to sand saves/scrambling and from the description it appears bombing it off the tee will benefit those that can this week, so naturally that will be a primary statistic we target as well. Finally, South Africa is at altitude, so the ball should be flying a bit further for everyone, just something to keep in mind.

TOURNAMENT BACKGROUND

• The Course
• Randpark Golf Club, Firethorn Course / Bushwillow Course
• Par: 72 / 71
• Yardage: 7,595 / 7,114
• Greens: Bentgrass
• Location: Johannesburg, South Africa
• Correlation: South African Events – Tshwane Open, Nedbank Challenge, DP World Challenge, 2010 SAA Pro-Am Invitational
• Past Champions: (None at this course)
• 2016: Darren Fichardt -15 over Stuart Manley & Paul Waring
• 2015: Haydn Porteous -18 over Zander Lombard
• 2014: Andy Sullivan -17 over Wallie Coetsee, David Howell, Kevin Phelan, Jaco Van Zyl & Anthony Wall
• 2013 George Coetzee -19 over Tyrrell Hatton, Jin Jeong & Justin Walters
• 2012: Richard Sterne -27 over Charl Schwartzel

KEY STATS TO TARGET

• Strong Emphasis – Greens in Regulation, Driving Distance, Scrambling/Sand Saves, Ball Striking
• Important – Current Form

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